Recipe: Microwave Mug Brownie

I think there sometimes often comes a point in your day where you suddenly become overwhelmed with stress and sadness...or become horrifically bored...or just have a great urge to procrastinate and that often leads us to want to have a nibble one something sweet, even if we have to worry about the calories later. These microwave mug brownies are perfect for those times and take all of about 5 minutes to make. Perfect. 

What you will need:
2 Tbsp salted butter
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 cup of all-purpose flour
1 pinch baking powder
1 pinch salt
3 Tbsp chocolate chips (it's best to use either full milk chocolate or you can combine milk with either white or dark!)

1 mug

Method:
Add bitter and brown sugar to a 12oz (or larger) mug. Heat in a microwave on high for around 45 seconds, then remove from the microwave and stir mixture with a form. Mix in the egg and the vanilla extract. Stir in the coca powder. Add flour, baking powder and salt and stir until well combined. Take your selected chocolate chips and make sure they have been mixed in thoroughly to the mixture (as you don't want them all at the top of your brownie!). Set your microwave on 50% power and cook your brownie for around 1 minute 50 seconds - 2 minutes 30 seconds (time will vary depending on your microwave wattage, so just keep checking on it to make sure it doesn't go too tough). Serve warm topped with your favourite ice cream, sauce and/or icing sugar (with maybe even a few more chocolate chips if you still don't feel as though all your chocolately needs are fulfilled!)

These brownies are so fun, quick and easy to make - you can't ask for much more than that!

July favourites!

I've decided that at the end of every month I would like to do a monthly favourites not unlike DailyGrace's 'sexist' (her sexy list of everything she's loved that month) and FleurDeForce's beauty favourites!

1: Nina Ricci by Nina Ricci
It has been a good long while since I have bought myself some new perfume as I'm sure you girls are aware we always seem to be getting some form of fragrance whether it is for Christmas or for birthdays or if someone just fancied buying you a treat (lucky thing!), so when I was browsing my way through every cosmetics and drugstore that Liverpool City Centre had to offer me, I couldn't help but subconsciously follow the sweet smells of the perfume counter in superdrug. I'm very wary about spending money a lot of the time and it is AWFUL because I think everybody needs a little therapeutic shopping every now and then, but it's no good when you feel super guilty after it! Anyway, on to the perfume! I paid £27 for the smallest bottle they had (30ml) as I like perfume, but I like to save perfumes like this for more special occasions so I know I wouldn't use it that often. I think that this perfume is ideal for summer with it's light, fruity smell (which, incidentally, matches its bottle). I wouldn't say that it was hands down the nicest perfume I have ever smelt, and I know that not everyone would enjoy it as much as I do, but I feel it is ideal to wear on perhaps a date or out for a meal with friends, though it could still be accepted as an everyday perfume.

2: QVS Eyeshadow Angle Brush
Again, this is another purchase from Superdrug, costing around £8 (I think), and this is something I've been wanting to purchase for quite a while now. I'm a girl who loves her eyeliner whether it be kohl, liquid, gel- I don't care! But I have pretty oily skin which can become a problem for me, especially in these summer months when I want to apply liner to my waterline as it either smudges or runs and by the end of the day I like some tiny human species of panda. As recommended by many a beauty vlogger on YouTube, I thought I'd try using eyeshadow as a supplement liner by wetting the angle brush before applying it to make it last a little longer and it works like magic! I know there are a lot of brands of makeup brushes out there, some of them a lot more expensive and others cheaper but, for someone with no job and no money 90% of the time, it's best not to buy brushes that will fall apart after 2 uses, but nothing too expensive because you can find cheaper brushes, such as this, which will do the job just as well and last for a good amount of time before the bristles begin to fall out.

3: Pandora Rose Freshwater Pearl Drop Earrings
I am 100% in love with these beautifully delicate earrings. These were part of my 18th birthday present this year from my parents and I wore them for my leavers prom the day after. I wanted simple jewellery to match my dress and the moment I saw these I fell in love. Over the counter they cost £40 but if you buy online you may have to pay an additional £5 to cover delivery costs but they are well worth it and complete so many outfits.

4: MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft and Gentle
As I mentioned I had my prom earlier this month and as a treat I decided to go and get my makeup done for the day so I didn't look like a train wreck. This powder costs £22 and is one of the most beautiful finishes you could ask for when topping off a look and I personally love this as I've found that it also looks pretty even without wearing foundation underneath it as I don't tend to enjoy wearing foundations in the summer as it feels too heavy sometimes. It is a beautiful combination of champagne-y colours with a slightly darker brown hidden in amongst it all and it gives you a stunning shimmery glow. Youtube's Sprinkleofglitter raves about this product in her latest video claiming that "if I had a bazillion pounds I would actually buy every single one of you this because it is just amazing!". 

5 & 6: The Hobbit by J.R.R.Tolkein & Homemade Owl Bookmarks
Reading is a great passion of mine as like many others out there I enjoy not being in the real world but in my own little bubble of infinite fiction which probably explains a great deal about my personality and the way I act if you know me. As I have now finished school my summer reads have already begun and I am on my third book of the summer, The Hobbit. Now I know a lot of people have already read this and I'm a little late, but I loved all of the LOTR films and the first Hobbit film so I finally decided that this is the year that I'd sit down and read them. So far, it is brilliant. I'm coming up to where the first films ended so the plot will be a little less spoilt for me from now on, but I am really enjoying it. Item number 6 in my favourites was one of those things where I made it in about 5 minutes last night and now I love it and want to make better quality ones to give to people. After sorting out my entire bookshelf yesterday and re-organising everything I suddenly realised that I had lost all of my bookmarks, which isn't a problem if I'm reading off my kindle but I really don't like folding the corners of pages in books anymore so I decided I would make myself a little owl bookmark to jazz my reading up a little bit. Cool, I know.

7: Gabrielle Aplin's English Rain Deluxe Edition CD
Gabrielle Aplin has been on of my inspirations for many, many years now and it is so lovely for me as a fan to be able to see how far she has come since she started making her cover videos on youtube with the occasional original song. Even in this past year with the release of 'Home' and the two music videos that have ran alongside it you can see the level of maturity grow and her voice become even more powerful and emotional. Her songs on this album make me feel a variety of things, relief, acceptance, sadness and joy. It is a truly wonderful combination and I look forward to seeing her in Liverpool in November and to see what she does in the future.

8: Despicable Me 2
Last but certainly not least is my film favourite of the month, Despicable Me 2. Now I know what you're all saying, "Hannah, come on now, you're 18. Now is not the time for children's films" but the truth is, I CAN'T HELP IT. I'm actually not 18, I'm 5 years old trapped in this body and I just want to watch Disney and Universal films constantly. I absolutely adored the first, not only because it was hilarious but because the main character, Gru, is played by none other than Mr Steve Carell who is one of my all time favourite comedians. In won't give anything away because I know a lot of people still haven't seen it but it is well worth a watch no matter what age you are, it is sure to have you keeling over laughing with the tears rolling down your face whilst you and your friend hold on to each other to stay in your seat. Truly wonderful.

Book Review: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

“Set over the course of one school year in 1986, ELEANOR AND PARK is the story of two star-crossed misfits – smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love – and just how hard it pulled you under."

This is one of the first books in a little while that I’ve been able to sit down and simply read cover to cover without feeling like I need to take a break,  or reached that point in the early hours where my brain whispers “I think you ought to sleep now" -no. This book had me from the second I read "XTC was no good for drowning out the morons at the back of the bus", because quite honestly I know this exact feeling. 

Eleanor & Park, though a romantic fiction, hit me differently the way other books have. This novel shows struggles, pain, the essence of true love and the reality of falling in love with someone who is perhaps a little broken. I also appreciate the way it does not try to pretend that everything turns to sunshine and rainbows when you fall in love, it explains how that real outside world will always come back for you whether you try and run from it or not.

Interestingly, the book is written from both characters points of view helping me as the reader to understand the reasoning behind the others actions, something that I think we can often find difficult in our own relationships. 

This book simply filled me up. It made me smile, it most definitely made me cry, and I definitely was able to take something away from it. Thank you Rainbow Rowell for an absolutely stunning read.

10/10.

A hearty hello!

To you out there reading this now, whoever you may be, I would like to say a massive hello and a welcome to this blog. Like many of you out there I'm sure, there have been times in the past where I have started up blogs and slowly but steadily given up on them, but now as I have finished my school career and have no rush to attend university, I thought it would be a good idea to keep myself occupied and continue my writing in some way. This blog is going to be everything I am; a range of music/book/film reviews, beauty product reviews, photography and sharing some personal memories, thoughts and experiences along the way.

I hope this can be the start of something rewarding for myself and something that you can find an interest in. 

Thank you.

x